Appendix 3

Training On The Snatch And Clean And Jerk:

A Key To Athletic Excellence

Readers of this book will by now understand that weightlifters are unquestionably the strongest and most powerful athletes in the world. But their athletic abilities do not end there; they are amazingly accomplished in a number of other areas. They exhibit more joint flexibility than all other Olympic athletes, except for gymnasts. Elite Olympic style weightlifters can also run faster than all but the fastest sprinters and jump higher than all but the best high and broad jumpers. (For example, Yuri Vardanian, World and Olympic weightlifting champion, could reportedly high jump 7’ without any special preparation in jumping.) These abilities are quite amazing when you consider that Olympic style weightlifters do not train them extensively, if at all (other than the training that arises directly from their practice of the Olympic lifts).

The Unique Value Of Olympic Lifts For Athletes

The truly remarkable abilities of Olympic style weightlifters are certainly due in part to genetic qualities of these athletes and to their outstanding physical condition. However, they are also due in no small measure to the kind of training that weightlifters do: performing the snatch and the clean and jerk (C&J).

Almost any form of resistance training can improve an athlete’s strength, but the snatch and C&J are unique in their ability to develop strength and explosive power at the same time. And the benefits of practicing the Olympic lifts are hardly limited to developing strength and power. Here is a partial list of other added benefits:

1. The mere practice of the Olympic lifts teaches an athlete how to explode (to activate a maximum number of muscle units rapidly and simultaneously). Part of the extraordinary abilities of the Olympic lifters arises out of their having learned how to effectively activate more of their muscle fibers more rapidly than others who are not so trained (in addition to having developed stronger muscles).

2. The practice of proper technique in the Olympic lifts teaches an athlete to apply force with his or her muscle groups in the proper sequences (i.e., from the center of the body to its extremities). This is a valuable technical lesson which can be of benefit to any athlete who needs to impart force to another person or object (a necessity in virtually every sport).

3. In mastering the Olympic lifts, the athlete learns how to accelerate objects under varying degrees of resistance. This is because the body experiences differing degrees of perceived resistance as it attempts to move a bar with maximum speed through a full range of motion. These kinds of changes in resistance are much more likely to resemble those encountered in athletic events than similar exercises performed on an isokinetic machine (which has a fixed level of resistance or speed of resistance throughout the range of motion).

4. The athlete learns to receive force from another moving body effectively and becomes conditioned to accept such forces.

5. The athlete learns to move effectively from an eccentric contraction to a concentric one (through the stretch-shortening cycle, the cycle that is activated and trained through exercises that are often referred to as plyometrics).

6. The actual movements performed while executing the Olympic lifts are among the most common and fundamental in sports. Therefore, training the specific muscle groups in motor patterns that resemble those used in an athlete’s events is often a byproduct of practicing the snatch and C&J.

7. Practicing the Olympic lifts trains an athlete’s explosive capabilities, and the lifts themselves measure the effectiveness of the athlete in generating explosive power to a greater degree than most other exercises they can practice.

8. Finally, the Olympic lifts are simply fun to do. I have yet to meet an athlete who has mastered them who does not enjoy doing the Olympic lifts. While making workouts enjoyable may not be the primary objective of a strength coach, it is not an unimportant consideration in workout planning. Athletes who enjoy what they are doing are likely to practice more consistently and to be more highly motivated than athletes who do not enjoy their workouts as much.

Case Studies of Athletes Benefiting from Olympic Lifting

Other than the abilities of Olympic style weightlifters, is there any proof that practicing the Olympic lifts actually helps athletes? There is an enormous number of examples of athletes who have benefited dramatically from practicing the Olympic lifts. Presenting these cases would require a very large book. I will provide just three examples to make the point. I have chosen those particular examples because they come from athletes who participate in sports which would not normally be expected to benefit very much from ordinary weight training.

Steve Bedrosian recently retired at the age of thirty-nine after a very successful career as a professional baseball pitcher, most recently as relief pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. His career had very nearly ended five years earlier. When he was thirty-four, Steve lost some of the feeling in two of the fingers of his pitching hand. As a result he had lost the ability to pitch effectively and was forced to take a year off in an effort to rehabilitate his hand. Many baseball experts felt that after this kind of setback his career was over. It was at this point that he met Ben Green, athletic director at the White Oak Athletic Center in Newnan, Georgia (Ben’s accomplishments as a weightlifter and coach were discussed earlier in this book). Ben put Bedrosian on a program of Olympic lift training during his year off . After six months of such training, Bedrosian added eight miles per hour to his fast ball and was able to dunk a basketball (something he had often tried but had never in his life been able to do). Steve made a triumphant return to the mound during the 1993 season.

 A second example is professional golfer Cindy Schreyer. She was introduced to the Olympic lifts by Ben Green in 1993. After approximately eight months of training, Cindy increased her drive by a full forty yards, a staggering improvement for a person already highly skilled at golf. Cindy won her first PGA tournament shortly after this dramatic improvement in her drive occurred..

Derrick Adkins was a sophomore at Georgia Tech when he began to work with Lynne Stoessel-Ross, then the school’s strength coach. Lynne has been a national champion and a national record holder in weightlifting and has represented the United States in the Women’s World Weightlifting Championships. She has a strong academic background in physical education, having earned a Masters degree in that field. She currently works as and educator and strength and conditioning coach in Lubbock, Texas. Derek had already reached the international level as a 400 meter hurdler when he began training with Lynne in 1990, having won the Atlantic Coast Conference championships and placed sixth at the World University Games. His best time was 49.53 seconds. In less than a year of training on the Olympic lifts, he shaved nearly a second off his already outstanding time (reducing it to 48.6 seconds). An injury sustained during an unfortunate running accident hampered his training for more than a year after that. However, after recovering from his injury and resuming training on the Olympic lifts, he reduced his time by another .9 seconds and went on to win the U.S. Nationals and the Goodwill Games. More recently Derek won the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Needless to say, if a baseball player, a golfer and a hurdler have benefited so much from practicing the Olympic lifts, football players and other athletes who participate in sports in which power is acknowledged to play a more critical role can enjoy and have enjoyed even more direct benefits.

Only Dedicated Athletes Will Gain Benefits from Practicing the Olympic Lifts

In order to enjoy the myriad benefits that arise from training on the Olympic lifts, there is a significant price that every athlete must pay. He or she must commit to learning the requisite skills. Most weight training exercises can be learned in one session, and the athlete’s technique can be refined to the point where the athlete can train with little supervision (with regard to technique) in a few practice sessions. In contrast, mastering the Olympic lifts requires a deeper understanding of the mechanics of the movements (which are somewhat complex). Moreover, considerable practice under supervised conditions must take place before competency is attained. People who say that the Olympic lifts are dangerous are very wrong in most of their arguments, but they are correct in one very important sense. The Olympic lifts can be dangerous if an athlete does not learn how to perform them properly. An athlete who is not willing to learn proper technique is better off not practicing the Olympic lifts at all.

Teaching And Learning Weightlifting Technique

The processes of teaching and learning, in general and as they apply to weightlifting, are discussed at length in Chapter 2. A simplified sequence can be described as follows.

Before the learner attempts to perform a certain movement for the first time, he or she should be given the idea of the movement through the use of films, demonstrations and verbal descriptions of how to move and why. Once an understanding of the movement has been acquired, the learner is ready to attempt it. This can be done unassisted or through guided movement (the instructor physically assists the learner to move his or her body through the correct pattern of motion). A variation is to have the learner “walk through” (perform the movement at a slower speed or do only some aspects of the movement) while focusing on what he or she is feeling. (Asking for some explanation of what is being felt or experienced tends to cause the learner to focus more fully during the walk through.) In the case of the Olympic lifts, the beginner should do this with a broomstick or bar.

Once an athlete has a basic grasp of what is to be done, he or she can begin to learn the skill. There are two fundamental requirements for learning a motor skill (a skill of physical movement): practice and feedback about the practice. This means the person must consciously direct his or her nervous system through the required movement, and the person must experience feedback with respect to the success of that effort. At first the coach is the primary source of feedback, but ultimately performers themselves learn to supply much of their own feedback. This process can be facilitated by having learners give the coach performance estimates (the more multifaceted the better).

It is clear that mental practice (visualizing the desired performance) is very effective for beginners. It enables them to plan (i.e., anticipate their motion). Mental practice also helps the beginner to run through any cognitive elements involved in the task and to think through what might be done in a variety of circumstances. The evidence regarding the benefits of mental practice among more advanced athletes is more equivocal (though many advanced athletes are firm believers in mental practice).

Coaches often suggest that new skills be learned in parts. In order for such a process to be effective in learning the Olympic lifts, the learning sequence must have the following characteristics:

1. the segment practiced must be similar to the performance of that segment during the lift;

2. the sequence practiced must involve all activities that are being executed simultaneously during the actual task;

3. practice in parts must eventually be combined into the full movement;

4. the segments practiced must involve the most difficult or weakest (for that athlete) part(s) of the lift.

The Selection of Reps When Learning Technique

There are differences of opinion among coaches about what the optimal number of reps is for learning technique. Some coaches advocate the use of three to five repetitions, or more, and others believe that singles—doubles at most—are best for learning.

A reasonable principle to employ when deciding on the number of reps to use is to consider the load to which the lifter will be subjected. If a lifter is using a light bar to experiment with a particular aspect of technique (e.g., foot position in the split or balance in the low position of the snatch) there is no reason why the lifter cannot perform three to five reps or even more, as long as the athlete does not feel real muscular fatigue by the last rep of set and form is not deteriorating as the reps progress (which is generally possible only when an empty bar or stick is being lifted).

Once the lifter has gone past the early stages of learning, with its frequent need for experimentation and correction, two different approaches can be suggested for further perfecting technique. The first approach is preferred by the Soviets and the second by the Bulgarians (though neither uses one approach exclusively).

The first approach is to perform doubles with approximately 80% of the lifter’s maximum and three to four reps with 65% to 70% of the lifter’s maximum. Using this method, the athlete gets many practice efforts handling a weight that permits him or her to focus on proper technique and to “feel” a mistake.

The second method is to stress the use of singles with perhaps 85% to 90% of the lifter’s maximum. Singles permit the load to approach maximal levels more often, levels at which the patterns of movement, tempo and force application all resemble most closely those to be used in maximum efforts. Singles also permit greater precision in movement, the ultimate objective of technique mastery. Higher reps are certainly employed for warm-ups, for variety and in assistance exercises to stimulate muscle growth, but singles form the foundation for the advanced lifter while performing the classical exercises (the snatch and C&J).

Whichever version of training is used, the power versions of Olympic lifts permit higher reps because they are simpler and less strenuous than the competitive lifts. Simpler versions of the lifts (pulls and hang lifts) tend to permit higher reps to be performed, but reps in these exercises should never exceed five if any real resistance is being used.

Most lifters will find that a combination of approaches is quite effective, but some may favor one method over another. Great lifters have been produced using both methods.

The Selection of Weight When Learning to Lift

It is always appropriate to begin teaching the lifter how to perform the Olympic lifts with a stick or empty bar. There are some aspects of the lift that will be impossible to experience without a loaded bar, but some of the basic patterns of movement can be amply modeled with minimal resistance.

Once the athlete has grasped the basics of the movement with the empty bar, he or she can begin to add weight gradually. The perfect weight for learning provides the athlete with enough resistance to feel how the bar is responding to technique variations. If the weight is too light, the lifter cannot feel any resistance and hence any difference between efficient and improper application of force. At the same time the weight must be light enough so that the lifter does not have to worry about making the lift. Such worries force the athlete to put technique on autopilot and hope for the best, instead of permitting the athlete to focus on the process with the assurance that success will occur as long as he or she performs the movement correctly.

The correct weight is relatively easy for the experienced coach to see, but the newer coach may need guidelines. First, the weight should not be flying all over the place (e.g., way in front of the lifter on one rep, behind on another). Second, the lifter should not be able to perform more than five to eight reps with the weight (and the lifter should never do more than three reps with a weight that can be made for five reps and five reps with a weight that can be lifted for eight when he or she is learning proper technique. The athlete should look nearly as fresh on the last rep of the set as on the first. If there is a noticeable slowing down or a declining precision with later reps in the set, the weight is too heavy for that number of reps (so either the weight or the number of reps should be reduced).

The good news is that the athlete can improve his or he power with virtually any resistance in the beginning. It is not until later in the lifter’s training that heavier weights are needed in order to generate a training effect. Therefore, heavy weights in the beginning are both counterproductive to building technique and unnecessary for building strength and power.

It will generally take an athlete anywhere from several to a dozen or more workouts to exhibit basic technique in the Olympic lifts done in power style. It will take several months for the lifter to handle near  maximum weights with sound technique, and such efforts should occur only on occasion (e.g., every two to three weeks). Any progression in weight should stop whenever the athlete’s technique begins to deteriorate. The athlete should return to a lower weight that can be lifted properly at that stage.

Again, this presents no problems in terms of the athlete’s enjoying the benefits of the Olympic lifts because improvements will come at first through handling only very modest weights.

The Importance of Gradual Conditioning for Weightlifting

The advice given in the preceding sections with regard to moderation in loading applies as much to the amount of weightlifting training that an athlete performs as to the amount of weight lifted per rep. The athlete must be permitted to adapt slowly to his or her weightlifting regimen. Extensive training at the outset is counterproductive both because it well not stimulate significantly faster improvements and because it exposes the athlete to unnecessary risk of injury. The overarching principle that should be used in setting up resistance training programs for athletes is that such programs are designed to assist the athletes in improving their performance in their chosen sport—they are not performed in order to make the athletes weightlifters. Athlete’s will receive approximately 80% of the benefit that they will get from weightlifting training out of the first 20% of the loading that they apply (e.g., if 10,000 reps of training per year were expected to yield maximum results for a given athlete, the first 2,000 reps would probably confer approximately 80% of the benefit of the 10,000 rep load. Naturally, with this much lower level of training effort, the athlete would have far more energy to practice his or her primary sport and would minimize the prospect that his or her weightlifting training, in conjunction with practice of the primary sport, would lead to overtraining or to an overuse injury.

So begin with a very low load (a few sets each of a handful of exercises) and add gradually as needed to arrived at the ultimate training level—which should be a relatively moderate overall load.

Following these guidelines will enable the athlete to gain the greatest benefit from his or her weightlifting training with the minimum of risk.

Teaching Technique

Now that basic principles of motor skill learning and repetition and weight selection have been addressed, let us look at some examples of their practical application in teaching an athlete how to perform the Olympic lifts. The Soviet, Bulgarian and USAW teaching sequences are discussed in Chapter 2. However, it has been my experience that none of these approaches is optimal for every lifter. When weightlifting is taught in classes, the teacher needs some unified approach (such as one of those already discussed). However, when a coach has the luxury of one-on-one or small group training, optimization of technique training occurs when the teaching sequence is individualized.

Individualization is best accomplished by considering several issues. One is the athlete’s current capabilities. It may be theoretically preferable to teach the snatch first (as many Soviet coaches argue), but a lifter who does not have the shoulder flexibility to hold the bar over head comfortably or who has a sore wrist is likely to have trouble learning to snatch first.

Another consideration is an athlete’s initial grasp of the lifts. Most beginners grasp one of the lifts more quickly than the others. Moreover, some athletes find it easier to perform different segments of the lifts than others. For example, I have seen athletes who pull more correctly from the below the knees than above their knees the first time they try. It seems sensible to use such information as a basis for planning the early learning sequence rather than to adhere to one prescribed sequence or another. If a lifter is able to perform a more complete movement better than a smaller segment the first time out, why follow the smaller to larger segment sequence?

The intelligent coach will select one reasonable teaching sequence as his or her basic method of teaching an athlete the Olympic lifts but will be flexible enough to modify the sequence for an individual athlete.

Basic Errors in the Lifts

Five basic kinds of errors can occur when executing the two Olympic lifts and their variations. They are errors of: balance, body positioning, relative muscle tension, timing, and effort. While these errors can occur at virtually any stage of a lift and in nearly any combination, almost every fault in weightlifting technique can be traced to one or more of these five mistakes. If you can learn to identify and address these mistakes, then you are well on your way to perfecting your technique or your coaching. These errors are discussed at length in Chapters 1 and 2.

Special Safety Considerations for the Olympic Lifts

The overall issue of safety in the gym is covered in Chapter 4 (as well as in Chapters 1 and 2, which discusses how to teach proper technique and Chapter 5, which discusses assistance exercises). Practice of the Olympic lifts can be quite safe when performed under proper conditions, but the opposite can be true when care is not taken. Therefore, all coaches should study Chapters 1, 2, 5 and 6, and talk to experienced weightlifters when they set up an Olympic lifting program. The coach should pay particular attention to the space requirements of Olympic lifting, the characteristics of a good platform, the care of the gym equipment and the athlete’s personal equipment. Athletes must also be taught how to miss, how to lower the bar and when and how to drop the bar.

Practice Enhances Safety and Makes Lifting Fun

Practicing the Olympic lifts or some variation of them will yield benefits that are virtually unattainable through any other method. However, the Olympic lifts require effort for the coach and the athlete to learn. The principles and tips provided in this chapter and in earlier parts of this book will help the coach and athlete to understand and apply the Olympic lifts, but there is no substitute for experience and for watching advanced performers of these lifts. There are many sources of video instruction available on the Olympic lifts, and the coach or lifter is who is interested in learning to perform them is well advised to study such instructional materials

Individualizing Technique for Each Athlete

It is important to individualize technique for each athlete. Individual athletes have different physiques and degrees of flexibility and are comfortable with different patterns of movement. Technique optimization is discussed at length in Chapter 1, but some of the more basic areas of technique individualization are discussed in this section as well. For further detail, please refer to Chapter 1.

Hand Spacing for the Snatch

Optimal hand spacing in the snatch is dependent on a number of factors, and there are trade-offs in the various grip widths. One simple technique for estimating a proper grip width is to have the lifter hold the bar with straight arms while pushing the chest out and pulling the shoulders back but not up. Next the lifter should bend forward slightly at the waist (with the back arched) and bend the thighs several inches. The lifter then adjusts the width of the grip so that the bar contacts the top of the thighs or the crease of the hips (the area where the most solid bar contact will occur during the pull of most lifters).

Once a reasonable starting grip width has been established, lifters will want to make modifications as needed. Some lifters will notice that with a normal snatch grip they will have difficulty maintaining an arched back when they lift the bar from the floor. Since a correct starting position is important, the lifter who finds himself or herself in this situation should either become more flexible or narrow the grip. Alternatively, an athlete may find that a wider grip enables him or her to hold the bar overhead more comfortably. Only some amount of experimentation and trading off of advantages will yield the optimum grip for that athlete.

Hand Spacing for the Clean

The common advice given to the beginning lifter with respect to grip width in the clean is that the grip should be “shoulder width.” This generally means a grip that is wide enough so that the inside of the hand is just outside the shoulders when the bar is resting on the lifter’s shoulders. Individual grip widths vary from approximately 16″ to 26″ between the insides of the hands (with most lifters being between 17″ and 22″), although some international level lifters have used grips that were even wider or narrower.

A narrower grip (up to the point of being shoulder width) generally makes it easier for the lifter to start the bar from the floor. It also tends to make bar contact with the thighs, and the body in general, steadier during the lift. Most lifters find it easier to place their elbows in a high position when they receive the weight on the shoulders in the clean with a narrower grip.

A wider grip generally enables the lifter to pull the bar slightly higher and to contact the thighs at a higher point during the pull (which some lifters prefer). In the end overall comfort and performance considerations will lead the lifter to the optimal grip for him or her.

Hand Spacing for the Jerk

Most lifters use the same grip for the clean as for the jerk (i.e., a width between 16″ and 26″, with most lifters using a grip in the 17″ to 22″ range). A narrow grip in the jerk generally places the shoulders and elbows in a stronger and more stable position. However, with a wider grip, the bar does not need to be lifted quite as high, and many lifters, particularly those with tight shoulders, feel that with a wider grip they can get the bar further behind their heads and rotate their shoulders to a greater degree (a position considered to be more stable by most lifters). As with other technique issues, the trade-offs between techniques will need to be considered and experimented with.

Foot Spacing for the Pull

The final explosion in the pull is like a jump in many ways, so it has been argued that placing the feet in a position that in conducive to jumping may well be the best position for executing the final explosion in the pull. This is generally a position in which the feet are approximately hip width.

However, some lifters will find it hard to assume a correct starting position in the pull with the feet so placed. Their flexibility and body proportions may cause them to round their backs, to raise the hips faster than the shoulders or to make some other important error in the start of the pull if they place their feet in a jumping position. If a lifter has trouble finding a strong and reasonably comfortable starting position for the pull, widening the stance and/or turning the toes out more than usual may help. Something may then be given up in the explosion, but it may be worth giving up in order to gain a correct and secure starting position.

Foot Spacing for the Jerk

Most lifters assume a foot position in the jerk that is similar to the one they use in the pull (i.e., usually about hip width, with a minor turning out of the toes). This position may promote application of maximum force during the explosion phase of the jerk, but some lifters will find this position ineffective.

For example, in the jerk some lifters have a tendency to lean forward at the torso when they are dipping with a jumping stance. This can often be corrected by shortening the lifter’s dip and asking the lifter to focus on a strictly vertical dip. Despite these efforts, the lifter may still persist in dipping forward. In such a case many lifters will find it easier to keep the back in an arched position and to dip straight with a wider and/or more turned-out foot position. If the lifter uses such a position, something may indeed be given up in terms of the power developed in the drive, but improved control over the direction of the drive may well make such a loss acceptable.

The Length and Speed of the Dip for the Jerk

Athletes generally lower the bar between 8% and 12 % of their height during the dip for the jerk. Athletes whose dips are at the longer end of this range tend to lower their bodies a little more slowly than those who have a dip at the shorter end of the range, and they take longer to reverse direction from the point at which they lower the body and bar to the point at which they commence the thrust.

Trial and error will help each athlete determine the best dip depth and speed for him or her. However, several guidelines will help make the process of optimization easier. First, the athlete should begin by dipping in a relaxed “free fall” kind of rhythm. The lifter should attempt neither to dip forcefully and quickly nor to resist the downward pressure of the bar; he or she should simply relax somewhat and let the dip happen. Second, the athlete must never dip so fast that the bar separates from the shoulders or deviates from the straight dip (a dip in which the bar moves in a strictly vertical fashion). Third, the dip should never be so low as to cause the lifter’s legs to quiver or wobble as they are bending or reversing direction into the thrust. The athlete should be able to reverse direction abruptly and to drive upward without any visible loss of control. Fourth, the upward drive itself must be explosive.

Some Other Important Areas of Technique

There are many important areas of technique, but several stand out for their importance to athletes who employ the Olympic lifts (or variations thereof) in their training. They are: assuming a correct starting position; correct positioning and applying maximal effort during the final explosion phase of each lift; moving under the bar rapidly after the final explosion phase; moving with the greatest possible speed consistent with maintaining control; maintaining a stable and balanced position during the dip and thrust of the jerk; and finding a focal point. Chapter 1 should be studied to assure that a proper grasp of these elements of technique is acquired.

Securing The Grip in the Snatch and Clean

Maintaining a secure grip while performing the snatch and clean is important. Dry hands which are free of oil and other lubricants are a must for practicing any variety of the snatch or clean. Weightlifters apply chalk (magnesium carbonate) to their hands before virtually every set of snatches or cleans to dry their hands and to increase the friction between their hands and the bar. Athletes who train on the Olympic lifts should adopt this policy.

Athletes who wish to strengthen their grips will find that practicing the Olympic lifts with the regular “overhand” grip (fingers wrapping around the bar from the front and the thumb alongside the fingers coming from the back of the bar) has a grip strengthening effect.

Some lifters attempt to perform the snatch, clean, jerk and any pressing movements they do with a “thumbless” grip. In the thumbless grip the thumbs go around the bar in the same direction as the other fingers (instead of in the opposite direction as in the regular grip). Advocates of this style feel that it makes their position stronger and more comfortable overhead and places more strain on the gripping muscles of the hand while the lifter is pulling. The thumbless grip cannot be recommended because it is far more likely that the bar will slip completely out of the hand when pulling with such a grip than with a normal grip. This can even happen while pressing or jerking with a thumbless grip (although it is very rare).

A special means of gripping the bar called a “hook” grip is the greatest method ever developed for improving a lifter’s ability to grip the bar securely. Consequently, it is used by virtually every lifter of high caliber. The technique of the hook consists of wrapping the thumb around the bar from the rear and then placing the first and second (and sometimes even the third) fingers of the hand around the thumb and the bar from the front of the bar. It is considered normal for the lifter to experience considerable discomfort, even significant pain, when first using this grip. Ordinarily the pain peaks just after releasing the hook. During or after the workout the lifter may also notice a discoloration on the thumbs (ranging from red to “black and blue”) which is caused by minor internal bleeding that may occur as a consequence of the pressure of the bar and fingers compressing the thumb against the bar. Both the pain and any discoloration will pass, typically after a few weeks. The only residual effect will be a more secure grip.

If the fingers develop a significant soreness that continues unabated from one workout into the next during this working-in process, the lifter should slow the breaking-in process. This is done by performing only some lifts with a hook or skipping a workout with the hook to allow the soreness to lessen. Many lifters find that wrapping a layer of surgical tape around the thumb before the workout lessens any irritation to the skin of the thumb. Illustrations of the various grips described above appear in Chapter 1.

Athletes who are engaged in sports in which grip strength is of little consequence (or who prefer to exercise their grips separately) may wish to use lifting “straps.” These straps secure the grip and permit the athlete to focus completely on working the leg, hip and back muscles without being limited by a fatigued grip. Straps are illustrated and discussed in further detail in Chapter 4.

When a lifter uses straps it is important to encircle the bar only once; the straps should not be longer than is necessary in order to wrap around the bar once (as shown in the illustration of straps that appeared earlier in the book). Wrapping the straps around the bar additional times makes it difficult to release the straps in the event of a missed lift (important in avoiding injury from a falling or bouncing bar). It is also important to make sure that the straps are in good condition and are strong enough to sustain the heaviest loads the lifter intends to use. Any strap that has even the smallest tear in any part of its stitching or material should be discarded immediately. Breaking a strap in mid-pull is at best a very unpleasant experience. At worst, breaking a strap can be dangerous. Therefore, never use a weakened or damaged strap.

The Proper Position for “Receiving” the Bar in the Olympic Lifts

When a bar is “caught” in any of the Olympic lifts, several rules apply. First, the lifter’s torso must always be rigid and vertical (a slight forward lean is generally fine as well, but no backward lean of the torso should be permitted). Second, the legs act as shock absorbers. They absorb the downward force of the body and the bar and should always “give” a little when the force of the bar is received. Third, the feet should generally be placed a little wider than shoulder width, with the toes turned outward somewhat. The feet should never be placed so wide that the lifter cannot comfortably lower himself or herself into the full squat position without moving the feet, but they are generally in a wider position than was employed by the lifter during the first four phases of the lift.

In the snatch and jerk the elbows should be fully extended while the athlete pushes up and tries to “stretch” the bar somewhat. Most lifters find it helpful to think of bringing the shoulder blades together somewhat. Proper tension in the arms and shoulders is essential for controlling the bar and protecting the joints of the shoulders and elbows. If the muscles are relaxed, the bar can be dropped unnecessarily (even after it has achieved the proper height and speed to be “caught” by the lifter in the low position).

In the clean, raising the elbows high and with substantial speed, as well as positioning the body as described above, are the keys to receiving the bar’s force effectively. The bar should be positioned well back on the shoulders, resting lightly against the neck.

Use of the Power Clean, Power Snatch and Power Jerk by Athletes

In the early chapters of this book, we explored both the elements of proper technique and how technique must be learned. Athletes who wish to train on the Olympic lifts as a means to improve athletic performance need not delve into all of the intricacies of technique development. A concentration on the basics will be sufficient. Moreover, most athletes will gain the majority of the benefits that are available from training on the Olympic lifts by learning three more simple versions of the competitive Olympic lifts that were discussed in Chapter 5, the power snatch, the power clean and the power jerk. Not only are these variations easier to learn than the classic Olympic lifts, but they also require less flexibility to perform than the competitive lifts.

The power styles of the Olympic lifts are learned relatively easily by most athletes. However, there are common and serious mistakes which must be guarded against by the coach. (The errors discussed below are in addition to those which were discussed in Chapters 1 and 2).

In the power snatch, the most common error is to “press the bar out” when it is nearly at arm’s length overhead. When a snatch is performed correctly, the bar should almost “snap” overhead. There should be no visible press-out with the arms. An athlete who is pressing out is either pulling too long and using the arms at the end of the pull (instead of “throwing” the bar with the legs, hips and back and then rapidly descending into a partial squat); not bending the legs sufficiently when catching the bar; using too much weight; or some combination of the above.

In the power clean the most common mistakes are: catching the bar on the upper chest instead of on the top of the deltoids (shoulders); not having the elbows up (which causes the force of the bar to be received by the wrists and arms instead of the shoulders, torso and, ultimately, the legs); leaning the torso back to catch the bar, a mistake which exposes the athlete to a heightened risk of lower back injury; not bending the legs sufficiently; using too much weight; and any combination of the other mistakes.

In the power jerk the most common mistakes are: pressing the bar out at the top of the lift (instead of having the arms “snap” to a full lockout position; leaning back while trying to catch the bar at arm’s length; not descending low enough in the squat; or some combination of the above.

A final mistake common to all three power style lifts is spreading the feet too wide in the partial squat position. Spreading the feet wide is a quick way to lower the body and thereby increase the amount of weight that can be lifted. However, a wide foot position is a major mistake for several reasons. First, it places great rotational strain on the hips and knees, which can lead to injury. Second, a wide stance can also contribute to muscle strains, particularly in the groin. Third, a very wide stance precludes the athlete from sinking into a deeper squat when that is necessary to control the bar. Finally, practice of such wide stance lifting practically precludes later learning of the full squat style of lifting, should the athlete ever choose to do so.

The Use of Partial Lifts

The power snatch and power clean from the floor can be performed effectively by most athletes with considerable practice. However, some athletes will find it extremely uncomfortable or even impossible to assume a correct starting position in the pull (the most common cause being a lack of flexibility). Athletes with this problem may wish to work on their flexibility until a proper starting position can be assumed. Other athletes may wish to forgo lifting the bar from the platform altogether. In either case such athletes can gain many of the benefits that accrue from training on the snatch and clean and jerk by doing partial versions of these exercises, either from the “hang” or from “boxes.”

When a lifter wishes to perform these lifts from the hang, he or she can deadlift the bar from the platform to the hang position. Alternatively, the lifter can remove the bar from a stand or block that has been set just below a finished deadlift position, step back from the stand and assume a hang position.

The two most common hang positions are with the bar held just below the knee and just above the knee (essentially the ends of the second and third phases of the pull, respectively). These starting positions tend to make the lift simpler (by removing stages of the lift), and they require less flexibility to assume.

The lifter can also lift the bar from special “boxes” which are placed on either side of the lifter under the plates of the bar. These variations of the Olympic lifts are discussed in Chapter 5, and the construction of the boxes that are used in performing lifts from the boxes is described in Chapter 4.

When performing these partial lifts, care must be taken by the lifter to position himself or herself in a way that mimics the positions that would be assumed at comparable stages in the full lift. Lifters, especially new ones, have a tendency to deviate from normal lifting positions when lifting from the hang or blocks. By far the most common deviation is for the lifter to have his or her shoulders further back than is appropriate (i.e., when pulling from below the knees, making the error of having the shoulders directly over or behind the bar, or when pulling from just above the knee, having the shoulders behind the bar).

Lifters who pull from a position with the bar above the knees enjoy the benefits of mastering the final acceleration stage of the pull (the stage in which the greatest power is developed). Pulling from below the knees enables the lifter to train the stretch-shortening cycle and the final explosion as the knees rebend and the lifter then explodes upward.

The Use of Pulls

Another Olympic lift related exercise is a “pull.” As was explained in Chapter 5, this is an exercise in which the lifter executes all but the fifth and sixth stages of the snatch and clean. The lifter simply performs the final explosion phase of the pull and then stops. Some lifters remain in a position with the body fully stretched at the end of the exercise, permitting the bar to rise up along the body (they then lower the bar in a controlled manner). Others lifters permit the legs to bend, or the legs to bend and the torso to incline forward somewhat as the bar reaches its maximum height.

Regardless of what is done at the finish of the exercise, many of the benefits that accrue from practicing the Olympic lifts are derived from pulls as well. Athletes who want to minimize any trauma to their bodies when they “catch” the bar in full squat of power position, yet who wish to gain many of the benefits of practicing the Olympic lifts, will find pulls to be very useful. Learning to pull is far easier than learning to power clean or power snatch (in fact, Bulgarian coaches use pulls as a means to teach their beginners the first four stages of the snatch and clean).

Athletes with knee or other joint problems may be able to perform a pull with little discomfort, even though a power clean or snatch might aggravate the injury. Athletes who simply are not willing to devote the effort necessary to learn the Olympic lifts may find that pulls are a valuable substitute. However, even pulls must be practiced and performed correctly.

If athletes intend to perform pulls exclusively, they will generally find it beneficial to use some sort of fixed device to measure the height of the pull (see the section on the height gauge in Chapter 4). Using a marker on the body as a means of measurement is not recommended because the marker can move (if the athlete touches the chest with the bar is it because the bar was pulled to chest level or because the chest was lowered by bending the legs or torso?).

Measurement is important because it is difficult for the athlete to know whether he or she is progressing unless the height of the pull is measured (this is unnecessary in the power snatch or clean because the exercise itself effectively measures the height of the pull). In this context, progress will occur both in terms of improvements in explosive power and in technique.

For athletes who are both unable to execute their lifts from the floor or to catch them overhead or on the shoulders, pulls from blocks or the hang position offer an avenue for obtaining some of the benefits of practicing the Olympic lifts. Pulls are discussed more fully in the chapter on assistance exercises.

Summary

Athletes can greatly benefit from practicing the classic weightlifting events and related movements. But the benefits outweigh the risks only if the weightlifting movements are performed correctly and if the loads lifted are gradually increased to the desired level. If an athlete is not willing to learn proper technique, or to progress slowly in terms of loading, he or she is better off not practicing these exercises. The good news is that heavy weights and many sets are not required to make good progress in the early months of training. Learn carefully, progress slowly and you will maximize the considerable benefits that can be derived from weightlifting training. Good luck and good explosiveness!